Last Sacrifice FanFic
by D.L.Belikova
Summary: my version of Last Sacrifice with rose locked up in one of court's cages how will she escape; will she or get sentanced to death.
1. Prologue

Last Sacrifice Fanfic

Prologue

I stared blankly at the wall. It was bad enough that they were keeping me cooped up in this cage with nothing of entertainment value but they were't even letting me speak to anyone. (I actually think that cage implies more legroom, but, hey.) The _guards_ wouldn't even speak to me. I know that not all of them believed that I was guilty, but they needed to be careful; they could lose their jobs if someone important came down at the same time they decided to chit-chat. The only time I recieved any sort of communication was when I threw a fit over being here and they told me to shut up. So. For the best part of the last three days, I've been left with nothing to do. I've spent the vast majority of the time with Lissa. But seeing as it was eleven am (human time), Lissa was asleep.

And I was in no mood to.

I mean, if I didn't think Adrian would turn up, I'd probably be asleep, too, but seeing him would make me want to see Lissa so much more badly. I missed them all so much.

Well, I guessed there was _one_ advantage to being cooped up like a lab rat. Dimitri.

It sure as hell made getting over him that much easier. I wasn't seeing him with Lissa every time I turned a corner. I supose it's hard to admit that I'm jealous of her, but, well...I kind of am. He promised to spend his life protecting her, making her safe...

Safe from people like me.

I didn't do it, I swear. But everyone thinks I did.

I know that I really shouldn't've said what I did in the court. But I wasn't in control of myself. My anger was.

Dimitri's the only person who ever got through to me when I was like that. and also, Lissa was kinda pissed about it, so I guess that played a part in it.

Yes, I admit that I called her a "sanctimonious bitch."

Yes, I said her laws were "fucked up."

But I always respected her...she even started to respect me, I think.

I didn't always like her...

But I would _never_ kill her.

_I wouldn't kill the Queen._


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: I FORGOT TO DO THE DISCLAIMER.**

**I DON'T OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACHTERS**

**I ACTUALLY DON'T EVEN OWN THE FIRST FOUR BOOKS. I CONSTANTLY BORROW THEM FROM FROM MY FRIEND, ABI. SHE GETS PRETTY PISSED AT ME FOR THAT.**

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Chapter 1

I stared blankly at the wall. There was nothing to do in this cage. They're keeping me locked up for something I didn't do. I'm pretty sure that that's not legal. I know that at the hearing they decided to go to trial on the evidence that stands, but, you know, what about the whole _'innocent until proven guilty'_ thing? Oh, yeah. That was humans. I'm not human. Right.

These last three days, I've spent most of my time in Lissa's head. No one was allowed to come down and see me. The guards wouldn't even talk to me. I had four or five on duty outside my cell at all times. You know, because I'm dangerous. I killed the queen (note sarcasm). I sometimes heard my friends arguing voices, wanting to come down to see me. Abe hadn't been down to see me, and that was what I found most alarming. He was my lawyer. Did they really think that I was that dangerous that they wouldn't let my lawyer down to see me—who also happens to be my dad, as I found out three months ago. We aren't super close or anything, but still.

I could understand why Liss and Adrian weren't allowed down to see me, but I knew that if they got really desperate, they would just compel the guards. Adrian was visiting me in my dreams, though, every night. I suppose that was why they didn't just compel the guards; Adrian constantly reassured Lissa that I was alright. I spent most of my time in Lissa's head, but she was asleep right now, and she was having a few nightmares that I'd really rather not see.

She had talked to Abe not long after my hearing, only a few hours. When she asked him what would happen if I went down, he told her the same thing that he'd told me: _'They execute traitors.'_

Those three words had been running through my mind since he'd said them. I don't want to die; I like being alive. I pushed that thought aside. _Abe promised_, I reminded myself. _He said he wouldn't let me go to trial_. I was seriously beginning to doubt that man.

And then there was Dimitri. I had heard his voice only once since I'd been down here. It was the day after my hearing, and he'd said that he needed to speak to me about _some things_. I really hoped that 'some things' meant 'us.' He said that he doesn't love me, yet when the guardians came to take me away, he fought them for me. _"No. I won't let them take you."_ He had stubbornly protested. It was a complete turnaround since just the day before; he had ripped my heart out when he'd said the one thing that could've hurt me more that I already was.

"_This isn't over. I won't give up on you."_

"_I've given up on you," he said back, voice also soft. "Love fades. Mine has."_

It'd felt as though I had been punched in the gut. I'd run out of the church and cried for most of the day. Then, when he'd said those six words, three days ago, my whole perspective had changed. What if he was only staying away for fear of what he could turn into, for guilt over what he did to me when he was Strigoi? But I couldn't let myself hope. He might've only fought because he felt guilty about letting me fight last time; when the Strigoi attacked the school, and the rescue mission. I'd been badly injured and he'd blamed himself for not getting back to school quicker. But I don't regret a second of it.

Because the night that the Strigoi attacked, was the night we'd finally given into each other. It was the best and worst night of my life. We'd had sex, and then, when we were on our way back to the school, Mason had appeared, warning me.

It was my idea to launch a rescue mission, since Eddie was within the group the Strigoi took to their lair. Then Mason had shown me the way to where they were.

I suppose I should thank Jesse for that night. The bad parts and the good parts, shockingly enough. There was no one at St. Vladimir's that I had hated as much as Jesse Zeklose. He's spread rumours about me shortly after I had returned, and then he let the Strigoi in.

He'd tortured Lissa, because he'd wanted her to be part of his group. The mână. He'd wanted Lissa to join. He and his friends had tortured Lissa with the four physical elements: Earth—thrown stones at her face—air—smothered her and throwing the air right back in her face—water—drenched her and drowned her from the water in the pond—and I turned up just in time before they decided to use fire. They were going to throw fire at her. I'd showed up just in time to stop them. I beat up Ralf, who was going to throw the fire balls, and as the group dispersed, I noticed that Jesse was still there.

Lissa was now taking her turn at torture. She was so angry that she was using a type of compulsion so strong that she could make someone live through their worst nightmare. She made Jesse think that spiders were crawling all over him, she was so angry. She explained that he wanted her to compel them to make them stop. After a bit of convincing in my part, she managed to send the darkness through the bond. I beat Jesse to a pulp, until the guardians came and peeled me off him. Dimitri had taken me away to get cleaned up…and then it happened.

But, as the magic in the torture was happening right on top of the wards—magical circles around the school and court that keep Strigoi away—the wards had broken. It was a lot like the previous winter when we had discovered that humans were breaking the wards with stakes. The magic in stakes and the magic of the wards had fought, and the stakes won. Then Strigoi could get in.

That's what had happened with Jesse's torture session. They were using all four elements right on top of the wards, and the torture session had won out.

I suppose it was Jesse's fault that Dimitri had been turned Strigoi, too. If there'd never been an attack on the Academy, then I wouldn't've suggested that we go on a rescue mission, and if there'd never been a rescue mission, Dimitri wouldn't've been turned. And if the Strigoi hadn't been able to _get in_, in the first place, then neither would've happened.

So I'd dropped out of school to go find him, searching all over Siberia, his home country, to fulfil a promise we'd made back when we were falling in love. We'd both promised each other that if either of us ever went crazy and turned Strigoi, then the other would go out and find us and kill us. This was in response to Lissa finding out that a former teacher of ours, Ms. Karp, had turned Strigoi. We'd been told that Guardian Sanders had gone out to search for her…and kill her. We never made a promise in so many words, but the intent was still there in our joking remarks on the mini-bus on our way to a shopping trip in Missoula.

I'd failed miserably in my attempts to kill Dimitri. I'd met his family, and I'd stayed there for almost two weeks. I loved them like my own, but I'd gone to Russia for a reason, and I went out to fulfil that. Dimitri had held me captive for a week and kept me as his own blood whore plaything. Although, one day, he'd been away for almost twenty-four hours, and I'd regained a shred of clarity. So I managed to stall for nearly two days after that, and then we fought. I staked him with a chair leg, then gotten out. I'd staked his former mentor and then we'd fought. I'd managed to stake him on a bridge, but it hadn't been enough. As he hit the water, the stake had fell out. And since then he was more or less stalking me.

I'd recently met Guardian Tomas Sanders, and I found out that he'd never found her. I'd told him about our—our mission I suppose you could say—to return Dimitri to his former state. I'd met a couple in Russia, called Mark and Oksana, and they'd told me about another spirit user they'd once met, who'd claimed to have restored a Strigoi to its original state. I'd then found out from Abe Mazur—my father, ironically enough—that his name was Robert Doru. Victor Dashkov's brother. He'd managed to get a message to Victor in prison, and we'd found out that the only thing that would lead us to wherever Robert was, was if we busted him out of jail.

I hadn't told Tomas about freeing Victor Dashkov, and he was happy to help, because, if he had the chance to save Sonya—Ms. Karp—without killing her, he would take it, no doubt.

At first, he didn't believe, but I convinced him that it was possible. Then he'd wondered how I'd find him.

"_It's futile, you know," Tomas said at last. This time, his voice cracked a little. "I tried…I tried so hard to find her. But when they disappear…when they don't want to be found…" he shook his head. "There's nothing we can do. I understand why you want to do it. Believe me, I do. But it's impossible. You'll never find him if he doesn't want you to."_

_I wondered how much I could tell Tomas—how much I should. It occurred to me then that if there was anyone else in this world who understood what I was going through, it would be this man. Besides, I didn't have a lot of options here._

"_The thing is, I think I can find him," I said slowly. "He's looking for me."_

"_What?" Tomas's eyebrows rose. "How do you know?"_

"_Because he, um, sends letters to me about it."_

_That fierce warrior look immediately returned. "If you know this, if you _can_ find him…you should get backup to kill him."_

_I flinched at those last words and again feared what I had to say next. "Would you believe me if I told you there was a way to save him?"_

"_You mean by destroying him."_

_I shook my head. "No…I mean really save. A way to restore him to his original state."_

I had been right. It was right for me to have let him go in Vegas. Because what Robert had said had been the truth. And now Dimitri was a dhampir like me again.

And he wanted nothing to do with me. So I guess Tomas was right. I went to all that trouble and effort, and he doesn't care anymore.

Back in the present, it was eleven a.m. and Lissa was asleep. She was having nightmares about what Abe had said. She was worried about what'd happen to me. She was imagining how they would kill me. If she was awake, she wouldn't have these thoughts; she was careful to control them when she was awake. But when she was asleep, her subconscious took over. She couldn't help these images now. There were all sorts of images: staking, shooting, etc. I blocked out the images, but then I realised that she was with Christian. She was thrashing, and had woke him up.

"Liss; Liss. Wake up."

"Thank you, Christian." She kissed him and leaned back against his chest. "I just can't think about it. I don't want to go back to sleep." His arms wrapped around her waist.

"Then don't." he suggested. She pushed him away.

"I'm not in the mood right now. I miss her so much."

"Don't worry, Liss. She'll get out. Just watch."

"Thank you. So much." She crawled back into bed. I decided I didn't want to be there anymore.

"Ugh!" I yelled, throwing the cup someone had placed at the foot of my bed across the room. Cage. Cell. Whatever. The guardians all stared at me. It was the first time I had done something like this in hours. They obviously hadn't been expecting that. "What?" I said, using the best bitchy voice I had. "You scared?"

"Shut up." Growled one of the guards further down the cell block. His name was Andrew, and he was only a year older than me. He had graduated last year from Adrian's old school, Alder.

"No," I argued. "Because I'm pissed off and I'm being locked in a cage for a crime I didn't commit."

"I meant, 'Shut up; I'm being radioed through right now'." He retorted with a dry smile. He asked the woman on the other end if she could repeat.

"Oh." I said lamely; all protests died on my lips. Are they going to let me go? I thought eagerly, and then pushed that thought away. They wouldn't let me go. I was sure of that.

"Your lawyer is here, Miss Hathaway." He said. And then Abe walked in.


	3. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I - SADLY- DO NOT OWN VA OR ANY OF IT'S CHARATERS, RICHELLE MEAD - LUCKY BITCH - DOES. I REALLYREALLYREALLY WISH THAT I OWNED AT LEAST DIMITRI, THOUGH.**

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Chapter 2

"Hey, Old Man." I said as he came to stand in front of my cage.

"Hello, Rose." He greeted me. "I came to discuss the matter of your trial. It's in four days time, remember?" he asked.

"Don't patronise me, Old Man."

"Then don't call me Old Man."

"Fine." I grumbled. He smiled in defeat. "Zmey." I mumbled quickly. The look on his face indicated that he didn't appreciate _that_ nickname, either.

"Can we have some privacy?" he asked my guards. They mumbled and walked through the heavy double doors. They obviously knew Abe well enough to know that he could handle himself. He began, "Well, I think I might have some evidence that could get you off the leash."

"Serious?" I exclaimed, lighting up and leaping off the bed. If there hadn't been bars in between us, I probably would've hugged him. "What is it?"

"You remember that note that boy Ambrose gave you at the hearing?"

"Yeah." I said. I'd actually forgotten about it, but now that Abe reminded me, I remembered it. It was from the Queen and she'd asked Ambrose to deliver it to me personally, should anything happen to her. It had basically said that she trusted me to look after Lissa, and keep her safe. It had also said that she wanted me to go and find the last living Dragomir. I remembered the words clearly now that Abe had brought it up:

"_Vasilisa needs her spot on the Council, and it can be done. She is not the last Dragomir. Another lives, the illegitimate child of Eric Dragomir. I know nothing else, but if you can find this son or daughter, you will give Vasilisa the power she deserves. No matter your faults and dangerous temperament, you are the only one I feel can take on this task. Waste no time in fulfilling it."_

She trusted me with this and had told me to share it with as few as possible. I hadn't been sure if Abe was one of the few I should tell, so I'd waited until we were out of the courtroom before showing it to him. I still wasn't sure, but I figured that it could be used as evidence. So I gave it to him, and told him not to let anyone else see it, or tell anyone else about it.

"Rose?" he asked, and I realised that while I'd been spaced out that he'd just explained himself. "Were you listening?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I said that if we can get Ambrose to testify that she'd given him this," he held up the note, "to give to you, we'd have quite a high chance of winning. And, of course, if we could get CCTV footage from the lobby of your building, then we'd have solid evidence…so long as Lord Ivashkov did arrive before the time of the Queen's murder. CCTV from inside her room would be even better. And, of course, Lissa would testify. She does know you better than anyone else, and you have your bond."

"No." I said.

"What?" Abe asked. He obviously didn't know what I was talking about.

"She doesn't know me better than anyone else. I know that she'd testify and she'd tell the truth, and she does know me better than _almost_ anyone. But not everyone."

"Then who does? You've been best friend since kindergarten. Who else is there? Lord Ozera, Lord Ivashkov, Mia Rinaldi?"

"No." I contested. "Dimitri does."

"What? You've only known him for what? Six months? A year? How can he know you better than the people who've known you all your life?"

"Yes. I haven't known him for that long, but I've spent a lot of time with him and he does know me better. We just had…I don't know…a connection. I don't know why but we do. And I know him just as well as he knows me." Abe just stared at me. He didn't know I was going to give a speech. I was getting louder as I went on and on. He opened his mouth to speak but I interrupted. "And, when we went to that warehouse, I led everyone, not from what I'd heard in Lissa's mind, but from how well I knew him, and that's how he knew that I was there in Lissa's head. He knows me just that well and he knows that I wouldn't do anything like that."

I could feel that my cheeks were flushed. By the end of my speech I was yelling. Thank god the guards had left.

"If you're done, I was going to say that we only need someone who knows you well enough to know how you work, and we could ask them. Also, all of your friends could give us some insight as to how you would orchestrate such an event and if their stories all match, then that'd be pretty hard evidence."

"Oh." I mumbled, embarrassed. "Well, I didn't know that you were going to come out with something like that, now, did I?"

"How little you know me." He murmured to me.

"Well, you've hardly been around for me to get to know, have you?" I retorted. Yes, I was a smartass, but I didn't care right now. I was sick of this place.

Abe just looked at me, and said, "Well, we're still searching through the Queen's room and seeing if there's any secret security footage in there. Remember, Rose, don't give the guardians such a hard time. Not all of them believe in you, so don't give them any more ammunition."

"Sure thing, Old Man." When I saw the look on Abe's face I couldn't help a tiny grin.

He walked out and in came the guardians, and with them, Dimitri. I realised that these weren't the same five guardians that had left when Abe was in here. These were Dimitri's guards. Although I was always happy to see him, I couldn't help a tiny twinge of resentment. I didn't let myself hope that he'd come to apologise. Instead, I went and sat on my bed.

"Rose—"he started, but I couldn't let him continue. One word and it was already starting to break my heart.

"Why did you defend me the other day, Dimitri? I thought you didn't love me anymore." I began. "It'd be a whole lot easier if you could just make up your mind about me, and then leave me to get over you."

"Rose, I'm sorry for the way I've treated you for these last few days. I was just unsure of myself, yet so certain that it'd be better for you if I left you alone. I just didn't want to hurt you anymore than I already did…when…you know, and you just drive me insane at times, Rose; I had to be sure that I was safe before I could be around you. I didn't know if there was still the monster in me, or if Lissa had successfully healed me of that. I just really, really didn't want to hurt you. And no matter about what you might think, I do care about you, Rose."

"Well it would help if you'd figured that out before I got locked up. That could've saved e a lot of hassle. And my brain was really starting to hurt these last few days. With nothing to do, I tried to think why you fought for me three days ago." I informed him. "you know, I've just about gone crazy these last few days," I said, standing up and walking over to him, "trying to figure out your motivations." I was standing right in front of him now. "Now, if there's anything you owe me, it's the truth, and I want to know one thing." He nodded, obviously knowing where I was going with this. "Do you still love me?" I asked; I swallowed, waiting for what came next.

He put his hand through the bars, and caught mine. "Always, Roza. I'll always love you, no matter what you believe. I can't not love you. Even when I was Strigoi, I think I loved you a little. Of course, those feelings were overpowered by the possessiveness that consumed me with you, but there was always the ghost there; I always loved you." He explained. And I just about passed out with happiness. "I've got to go and see Lissa right now, but I'll come see you when they find you innocent. And believe me, Roza, they will."

"Hey, one more thing," I said as he'd turned to walk away. He turned back to me. "How'd you get in here?"

"I just asked, Roza." He said with half a smile.

"I love you." I reminded him.

"I love you, too." He said, and I could see from the light in his eyes that he meant it. Pleasure filled me and for a moment I thought I was going to cry. But then I managed to maintain my composure and smile at him.

And with that, he walked away, and I lay down on my bed, suddenly feeling tired. I slipped into Lissa, and saw Dimitri approaching. Then I fell into a deep sleep, surprised to find Adrian there.

We were on the beach that I had gotten to know well these last few days. He'd come to me these last two days, but I didn't expect him to come three days running. This was where he'd brought us, and he'd dressed me in a red bikini top and cut-off denim shorts. I was also wearing my nazar and the chotki that Lissa had given me for Christmas. Sure, I'd given it back to her the day I'd left for Russia, but these always appeared in these dreams.

"Adrian!" I explained, elated. "Three days in a row. I'm impressed, Mr. Ivashkov. Is the waking world really that boring without me there?"

"The waking world is nothing without you. And how comes you're so happy?" he asked, suspicious.

"They let me have visitors, today. I have to say, I was shocked at first, but it was only Abe and he's my lawyer and I suppose they can't deny him access. But then Dimitri came and I was kinda shocked by that, too, but he didn't really say much, just that he had to talk to Lissa about something." I explained, as hyper as a kid locked in Disneyland overnight. He laughed.

"That's good. Lissa's been itching to see you, and I think even Christian misses your beautiful face. We'll try come see you tomorrow, but they might only let one of us in. You know how they are, tight bastards." He muttered the last part.

I walked over and hugged him, saying, "I hope that they at least let you in." before letting go. He laughed and kissed me on the forehead.

"Can't wait." He murmured before kissing me again, this time in the lips. "I miss you so much, little dhampir." I rolled my eyes at the nickname he came up with the first time we met. I suppose it's like Comrade. Just a little bit random and a little bit irritating.

"I'm sorry, I have to go, but I'll see you tomorrow." He kissed me once more before the dream dissolved into the usual blackness of sleep.

I woke up many times during the night, and when I finally woke up, I found Adrian and Lissa at the bars of my cell. They seemed shocked at the state I was in; they didn't seem happy to see me, they just looked horrified. It was like they hadn't even seen me, just the cage that I was in.

* * *

"Hey!" I yelled. Their eyes shot to me in the same instant. I was overjoyed. I knew Lissa was, too, as I felt her elation through the bond. I could see from the light in Adrian's eyes that he was over the moon. He looked about ready to burst. I could tell that there was something they were hiding; the same emotions that were on Adrian's face were coming through the bond loud and clear. I stood up and walked to the bars. "God, I missed you guys so much." I said, really wishing that I could hug them. "What is it that you can't wait to tell me, Liss?"

"Okay…get ready for it…they found the Queen's will. You were on it. It says she trusts you and she wanted you to be my guardian." Lissa said the words all in one long string after the initial hesitation, and she just about ripped off mine and Adrian's ears with the pitch. She was so excited about it that the squealed the whole sentence at an impossible octave.

"Jeez, Liss," I said rubbing my head. "Could you repeat that in a note that people can actually hear. I'm pretty sure that even a dog couldn't have made out the words there."

She laughed and then spoke in a regular voice. "They found the Queen's will and it basically said that she trusted you with her life and she wanted you to be my guardian. So I'm going to ask the council if they can release you until the trial, because if you're my guardian, then I shouldn't go anywhere without you, really, even if the court has more wards than really is necessary." She grimaced at the last few words, because we had recently learned that if magic was done by the wards, then they could break.

"Liss, thank you, but I think it's probably best to just leave it. I mean, the trial's in four days anyway, so it's not that long, and they might think you're trying to help me escape. So they probably wouldn't allow it. Thank you for thinking of me, though."

"It's okay, Rose." Lissa smiled at me. I knew she wanted nothing more than to keep me safe right now. She's the best friend anyone could ask for. "And Ambrose is going to testify, 'cause he was the one who gave you that note. That'll make them go easier on you. 'Cause Ambrose was pretty tight in with the Queen, and Abe says that if he says that the queen told him to give it to you."

"That's great, Liss. Thank you." It was then that I realised that Adrian had yet to speak. "Adrian? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, Rose. It's just that you said that Belikov was here." Oh, shit. "What _exactly_ did he say to you?"

"What? Dimitri came? That's great, Rose." Lissa said. I knew that she was truly happy for me, but I knew that Adrian didn't feel the same way. "What _did_ he say?" Lissa asked, extremely curious.

"Nothing, he just, um, came and wished me luck for my trial." I lied badly.

"You're lying, Rose. What did he say?" Damn. I thought I'd fooled him.

"Fine. He apologised for the way he'd been acting." I said, but knowing Adrian, and he was sober at this point in time, he would pick up that there was something I wasn't telling him.

"And what else?" Ah, shit.

"W-well," I stammered, "he admitted that he'd loved me the whole time and that it was just that he scared himself that he didn't want to be around me because I can really wind him up without meaning to and he though he might turn Strigoi on me at any moment and he didn't want that." After my initial hesitation, I told him everything in one breath without stopping. He looked so sad, I wished that I could take it all back, and make him forget that Dimitri had ever come here. "Adrian, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, Rose. You can't help how you feel, can you." He turned and walked away. I turned to Lissa.

"Can you tell him that just because I love Dimitri doesn't mean I want to break up with him. I still want it to work with him. The problem is that I suppose I just never thought that I could love him as anything more than a brother. Besides you, Liss, he is my best friend. Just tell him that, please." Lissa nodded, then smiled at me and followed after him.

_God, my life is__ so fucked up_, I thought to myself.

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**A/N: CHAPTER THREE IS GOING TO BE THE COURTROOM SCENE. I AM HALF WAY THROUGH AND AM OUT OF I DEAS AS TO WHAT COULD HAPPEN. COULD YOU PLEASE HELP ME!**


	4. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: RICHELLE MEAD IS A VERY LUCKY WOMAN AND HAS THE HONOR OF OWNING DIMITRI ANF ADRIAN. I, UNFORTUNATELY, DON'T. humph.**

Chapter 3

"Hey, kiddo, it's a big day today." Abe was shaking me and coaxing me awake.

"You said you wouldn't let me go to trial." I glared at him. I'd trusted him, and he let me down.

"I know, and I'm sorry. There was nothing I could do. But I promise I won't let them kill you. I will do everything in my power to stop that happening." I looked at him and saw that he was telling the truth, but then I had a thought.

"Hey, why'd they let you in here?"

"Today's the trial. They moved it forward. The Royals were getting anxious. I came to wake you up and tell you there's a bathroom you can use in one hour's time. Tomas will come and get you and then you'll have thirty minutes in there. When you get back, you have three hours to prepare yourself for this. I'm so sorry for this, Rose, but I promise, _they will not take you_." He said the last part with absolute certainty, and a tear escaped from the corner of my eye.

"But what is they find me guilty? What will you do then?"

"I have every right to appeal for you, all I need to do is supply sufficient evidence in court, and then ask for an appeal. It works just like any court of law."

"I think there's a little difference between Death Row and being accused in the Royal Court.

"but since there is currently no Moroi Queen then the decision will go to the Royal Council, who act as a jury, and since it's a jury vote, that makes it a court of law, not a Royal court, like Victor went to."

"So I suppose that means that you've bribed the council in one way or another to vote me innocent?"

"Not exactly." Was all he said. I looked at him, eyebrows raised waiting for him to elaborate; he didn't. "I'll tell you later, _when_ they release you." He turned to leave.

"Would you stay with me?" I asked.

"I would, but I was instructed to get in, wake you up, tell you about the trial, and get out."

"Oh, okay." I said lamely.

"I'll be back with Tomas later, and then again to take you to the trial. I have to go see your Mom." He said the last part with a small half smile.

"She's here?" I asked.

"She's coming with me later to take you to the trial. So's Alberta. I'm not allowed to escort you, only guardians can, but I suggested ones that you're close to. So Tomas, your mom, Alberta, Eddie, and Dimitri. You won't be cuffed, and even though he hasn't got his Guardian title back, he's just about the only one that can take you down. So he was allowed to come. So I'll be going now. Behave." And then he left.

My mood had improved hugely in the last minute. Dimitri was coming for me. Okay, not coming for me, but I was going to see him before I went to trial.

I decided to pass the next hour with Lissa, it's something I've been avoiding since coming in here, but the second my father walked out of my cell, there's nothing I want to do more.

"What?"

"The trial's in four and a half hours." Adrian repeated. "Eddie, Alberta, Janine, Tomas, and Dimitri are her escorts." Lissa turned to Dimitri, who had been standing silently by the wall. They were in Lissa's room, and Christian was standing behind her, trying to calm her down.

"Is it true?" Dimitri nodded. "What? Four and a half hours? Why?"

"Royals were getting edgy because it's taking too long, Liss. Abe's with her now, and he _won't_ let them take her, you know that." Christian reassured her. She felt better and turned and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I just can't stand the thought of her being killed."

"Well there's plenty _we_ can do about that isn't there, cousin?" Adrian said.

"What do you mean? There's nothing we—" she cut herself of, realising what Adrian had meant. "You mean compulsion. You want us to compel the whole council at once? That's not going to be easy. Adrian, even we'd not be able to pull that off. We'd need at least one more spirit user and probably a couple other Moroi. We only have Christian—"

"And I can't do compulsion." He put in.

"But, Liss, just listen." Adrian had that look in his eyes, the one that said he'd thought a lot about this. "I think Abe could be a spirit user."

"Abe? No he couldn't be, I'd be able to tell. And why is he not crazy like we can be?"

"Think about it. People used to say about Rose being unstable at St Vlad's didn't they? When I met Abe, I could see exactly where it came from. She's just like him personality-wise. It could be because she's his daughter, or it could be because she gets the crazy from you. And what if he has a shadow-kissed somewhere? But there's something about him. His Aura's just like Avery's was." Lissa flinched at the mention of Avery. "What if he doesn't want to be recognised as a spirit user and is masking his aura from us?"

"It's…possible." Lissa was reluctant to admit it, but it all makes sense. Adrian continued.

"And he never mentioned what he specialised in, either."

"Okay, Adrian. I suppose we only have four hours until we find out if you're right. And I'm not compelling anyone until we find out if you're right."

"Deal."

I pulled out of her head then. I have around twenty minutes left until Tomas comes to get me for a shower. And then there's only three hours left.

And I'm shitting myself.

* * *

I'd just had a shower and brushed my teeth to make myself presentable. They'd allowed me to wear my guardian black and white; I couldn't believe it when Tomas handed it to me.

"How come you're giving me this?" I'd asked.

"Well, they never officially renounced your title, so you're still technically a guardian. So they can't stop you wearing your outfit."

"Thank you."

They'd allowed me to bring the hairbrush and mirror from the bathroom to do my hair; I still had an elastic band on my wrist. I pulled my hair into a bun to show off my marks and then all I had to do was wait.

After three hours of waiting, _six_ guardians appeared in front of my cell: Mom, Alberta, Eddie, Tomas, Dimitri…and…_Stan?_

"Roza," He whispered. Tomas unlocked my cell and I stood up and hugged my mom and began to cry.

"Mom," I whispered.

"Rose, Rose, it's okay. Shh, I'm here; I'm here. It's okay." She whispered in my ear. When she pulled back, she held onto my hand. I wiped my eyes with my free hand and turned to Dimitri.

"Hey," I said and he grabbed my hand. I held on tightly and we began walking.

"Lissa and Adrian are going to take care of it. They think Abe's a spirit user. They're going to compel the council and get you off the hook," Dimitri whispered into my ear as we walked.

"I know. And everything Adrian said made complete sense…for a change. I was there." I added, pointing to my head with our joined hands, seeing his look of confusion. Understanding crossed his features and I smiled.

We approached the courtroom and my smile faded. Dimitri squeezed my hand.

"You can do this, Roza."

I stepped into the courtroom, and I was shocked at what I saw.

"They're all here for you, Rose." Alberta whispered from behind me.

Half the school must've been here. The whole senior class of Novices were here, since they were already there, but I recognised all the guardians from the upper school, and a few from the lower school. Miss Morrell—the teacher I called a fascist bastard in Kindergarten—gave me a reassuring smile.

In the front Row were Lissa, Christian, Adrian, Mia, Jill, Emily, Tasha, Oksana, Mark and the Belikovs. They were staring open-mouthed at Dimitri. I nudged him with my elbow.

"Look," I whispered, pointing at them. He stared and his eyes began to tear up. I squeezed his hand. "Go." I said as we reached the front. He squeezed my shoulders and went to see his family. Alberta stood next to me now.

"Rose, we know you didn't do anything wrong. You just need to convince them of that now. So you go up there, and you tell them the truth. You've been set up, but they don't want to see that. They don't want to launch an investigation, it would take too long. But everyone here is here for you." I looked around and the only Moroi there were my friends and teachers. And the only Royals were Lissa, Adrian, Tasha, and Christian. She was right. "We all believe you. Now you've just got to convince_ them_."

"Between you and Abe, you're covered." Mom added. "You _will_ get out, Rose. I promise you. You don't know your father like I do. He would do anything for you. And he won't let you go to prison, and this is serving maximum sentence. He wouldn't let you go. I promise." She squeezed my hand.

"Come on, Rose. It's time." Abe said from behind me. Alberta squeezed my hand and went to sit with the other guardians from the Academy. I noticed Eddie, Stan, and Tomas had already sat down. Eddie was on the front row next to Lissa. I noticed they were all holding onto each other's' hands. Lissa looked like she was squeezing pretty hard; Christian looked pained. The sight almost made me laugh.

_You'll be fine, Rose. We'll get you out of this. _Lissa thought to me. I could only hope she was right.

I sat down with my mom on one side and my dad on the other. I held onto both their hands tightly.

"This court is now in session." The judge said loudly, slamming her hammer thing on the table. The world went in slow motion from then on. I swallowed. This is it. I felt Lissa's panic through the bond, and I once again wished it was two way.

I felt a tear slide down my face as I waited for the trial to start.  
_** epic**_**.**

* * *

I know it was short but I wanted to have this chapter with the run up to the trial and then two more for the actual trial. I'm not sure how it will go from here, but I can only do my best, but I promise you, the next chapter will be


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Iris Kane strode to the front of the room, with my stake in her hand. It was twenty minutes into the trial and nothing interesting had happened so far; I'd completely spaced out.

"This is the most substantial piece of evidence we have in this investigation. This is Miss Hathaway's stake." She stated. No shit. "This has her, and hers only, fingerprints on it. She pulled out a bottle of clear liquid in it and sprayed it on my stake carefully. There was only one set of fingerprints on it, which was odd, considering that I had used that stake many times, and more than one someone's had touched it; I know for certain that at least two others had: whomevers it was before I claimed it, and the human who'd put it in the vault. So that was a bit odd. Not to mention that they weren't smudged it.

"Objection!" Abe's voice rang out through the room. "There is only one set of fingerprints on that stake. Rose has held it more than just the once. And if she had just cleaned the stake they would be smudged from the force of her hit."

"Well, why would her fingerprints be on a random person's stake?" Iris questioned.

"I don't know; maybe someone set her up."

"Miss Hathaway, do you have anything to say on this matter?" the judge asked me.

"Yes, actually, I do. I _found_ that stake in Russia. I was being held captive by a group of Strigoi and they had humans working for them. The humans had been taking all things magical from people so they couldn't hurt the Strigoi, which means that there had to be at least three sets of fingerprints on it already. And Lissa held it when I came back to the Academy, so that's four, and there must be at least one more set on it since it was posted back to me from the Strigoi holding me captive. That's at least five people who've held it, so why is there only my fingerprints on it?"

"Who was the Strigoi holding you captive?" Iris questioned, like it was important, but I answered anyway.

"Dimitri Belikov."

"He's your former mentor, correct?" she asked. I nodded. "So what business did he have holding you in Russia?"

"I was looking for him." I stated flatly. I saw my mom's face change in my peripheral vision; she hadn't known why I was in Russia—well she knew I'd gone to hunt Strigoi, but not known why.

"Why? He was your teacher, nothing more, wasn't he?"

"Yes, but when I'd first returned to the academy, we'd both said that we'd rather die than become Strigoi." I closed my eyes, remembering. "He said that if he ever became Strigoi, he'd want someone to kill him. I was honouring his wishes." I practically growled that last part; Iris Kane was giving me a sceptical look.

"And it was nothing more than that?" she looked around the courtroom laughing. "Am I the only one who thinks that it's a bit strange for someone to go to such lengths for their _teacher_?" she was met by stony glares from the room. Nearly everyone here believed in me, not this stupid case.

"Miss Kane, I agree with you, but can we please get back to the matter at hand, we can address this issue at a later date." The judge spoke firmly, and Iris got back to it.

About ten minutes later the court was given a fifteen minute recess. When we came back, it would be Abe's turn to give evidence, which means actual witnesses to the stand.

But, of course, since I was the accused, I was cuffed to the chair and told not to move.

* * *

"Here in my hands, I hold our late queen's will." Abe announced, holding it up for everyone to see it.

"Would you like to read it aloud to the court?" Iris asked from the side where she was standing.

"Gladly." Abe then proceeded to read it to the court.

"My last will and testament, by Queen Tatiana Marina Ivashkov:

To start, I would like to announce that I choose Princess Vasilisa Dragomir to be my successor after I pass. This means that her guardian, Rosemarie Hathaway, would become the head of the royal guard by default as she already the Princesses guardian—that way, she will have backup, if ever needed. I had wished for this to happen under my reign, but, unfortunately, that was never possible.

I would like for my estate, and therefore, my money, to go to my great nephew, Lord Adrian Ivashkov. I loved him as my own son, as I have, unfortunately, never been able to have children.

I would like to grant Lady Natasha Ozera and Lord Christian Ozera's wishes for Moroi learning to fight and teaching defensive magic. I know they have been practising for years, and they are skilled enough to teach others. My only demand for this movement is that the Moroi aren't the ones teaching the physical combat; I would like for Rosemarie Hathaway and Dimitri Belikov to be the sole tutors of the combat side. I know the Princess would've instated them herself but I wanted the assurance of knowing the two most skilled guardians we have are teaching Moroi to fight.

My final wish is for Dimitri Belikov to be fully reinstated as a dhampir and a guardian. He is a good man, and I know he will help hugely when we rebel against the Strigoi. I trust Rosemarie with my life, and if she says he is no longer Strigoi, then he is no longer Strigoi.

And, Rosemarie, I hope you succeed. I wish you well on your journey."

"It is signed by the Queen, Damon Tarus, and Rufus Ivashkov. It is dated July 27th, 2010."

"She knew she was going to die." I whispered to myself. "She knew she was being hunted—that someone wanted her dead. She knew this would all happen."

"And how you know it is genuine, Mr Mazur?" Iris asked, strolling towards him.

"Well, since it's written in the Queen's own hand, and on official documented paper."

"How do you know it's not a forgery?"

"Because it lines up with the letter she left for Rose. The handwriting's the same, and the content is similar."

It was getting weirder and weirder by the second. I took the note Ambrose had given me from the back pocket in my slacks. I looked it over again and again. She'd written this knowing something was going to happen. _Something terrible has happened. _That's what the letter says. She'd written it recently—_Vasilisa needs her spot on the council. _Then she says _waste no time in fulfilling it. _If she hadn't known something bad was going to happen, she wouldn't have written a letter to me saying it was urgent; she'd have just summoned me and told me.

Meanwhile, Iris and Abe were still bantering at the front. It had only really been two minutes while I had thought of all this—I'd only really been half-listening to what they had been saying at the front, before completely tuning out.

"She knew it was going to happen." I blurted out loudly, standing up. Everyone turned to look at me. "She knew something bad was going to happen."

"And how did you come to that conclusion, Miss Hathaway?"

"This letter she gave me," I said holding it out. "Think about what the will says. Now read it and tell me it _doesn't_ make sense! _Tell_ me it isn't true! Because _it is_!"

"Miss Hathaway, I think you are trying to find a way out of a _very_ sticky situation." She spat.

"I'm not_ trying_ anything." I retorted harshly.

Iris took a step towards me. "Didn't you threaten the Queen in an open council session, Miss Hathaway?" she said icily. She had a smirk on her face—and I didn't trust it one bit. I had no idea where this was going. I kept silent, but my silence spoke legions. She knew the answer already, and she took another step as she spoke. "So how do we know you didn't forge this note?"

"Because I was given it at the end of the hearing."

"By whom?"

"By Ambrose."

"Ambrose who?" she was now standing directly in front of me, with her hands on the desk between us.

"Ambrose Kinsley." I stated flatly. She was expecting me to come out with some bullshit name—she wasn't expecting me to name the queen's secret lover. The look on her face as she glared at me was priceless.

"I call Ambrose Kinsley to the stand." She called, her voice echoing through the now silent courtroom. There was some shuffling, and then Ambrose appeared in the aisle. He walked towards the stand, and climbed up.

"Mr Kinsley," she started, "did queen Tatiana give you this letter to give to Miss Hathaway?"

"I can't be certain, since she told me specifically not to read it, but it looks to be the same one."

"When, exactly, did she give you the note to give to Miss Hathaway?"

"Two days before her murder." His voice cracked on the last word, and I saw him swallow, trying to clear the lump in his throat.

"So, July 26th, Mr Kinsley?"

"Yes."

"And why did you not pass t straight onto Miss Hathaway? Why hold onto it for three days before finally giving it to her?"

"She told me I was not to read it, or give it to Rose, unless something bad happened to her."

"You and the queen were close, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"And she trusted you, right?"

"Yes."

"And when you last saw her, did she say she thought something was going to happen?"

"No, she didn't."

"But you could've protected her somewhat. Would she have not told you, someone she trusted, that she was feeling uneasy about her personal safety?"

"I can't tell you that. Maybe she was feeling uneasy, but didn't want to mention it. Maybe she thought it was a bad hunch that would go away."

"Would you not have realised from the fact she was telling you to give Miss Hathaway a letter in case something was to happen to her. Would you not have been in the slightest bit suspicious?"

"Yes, I was, but she didn't do things for no reason. She often did things like that. So I didn't think anything of it.

"Well, maybe you should've, Mr Kinsley. You are dismissed."

While this was happening, Abe had come to sit by me, and I had sat down. Ambrose went to sit back in his seat, and Abe rose to his feet.

"Do you have any witnesses to call to the stand, Mr Mazur?" the judge—Paula—asked.

"Yes, actually, I do. Lord Adrian Ivashkov, I call you to the stand." I heard Daniella whimper behind me. This was her worst fear: Adrian getting involved.

"Lord Ivashkov, at what time did you arrive at Rose's room on the evening of July 28th?"

"I don't know. I thought it was between seven and eight a.m., but at the hearing, the janitor said I arrived at nine twenty a.m. I'm not entirely sure, so I'll say between eight thirty and nine thirty a.m."

"And when you got there, what exactly did you do?"

"I don't think you really want to hear what I was doing with your daughter, Abe." There was a collective intake of breath from the audience watching—only my friends, Alberta, Mom, and Kirova knew.

"Oh, for Christ's sake!" I exclaimed. "It's not really that much of a shock, is it?" I motioned to my face and hair, and through the bond, I saw that Abe, standing behind me, was doing the same.

The judge banged her hammer thingy on the desk. "Quiet, please!" Abe and I turned back to Adrian.

"So, Adrian, you were doing unmentionable things with my daughter until what hour?"

"I stayed the night."

"I shouldn't have asked." He muttered to himself. "What time did you leave her room?"

"About twelve the next day. Rose had already left by the time I woke up, though."

"Do you have any questions, Your Honor?" Abe asked.

"No. You are dismissed, Lord Ivashkov." Adrian left the stand. "Miss Hathaway, would you take to the stand, please?" I got up. Iris stood below me.

"Miss Hathaway, what is your version of the night?"

"I got back to my room at five or six a.m. and Adrian turned up a few hours later."

"And these 'unmentionable' things…?"

"Are hardly unmentionable." I finished for her. "We made out for like two hours, and then went to sleep. That's it." I looked over to see Dimitri's fists clench on his legs.

"And at what time did you leave the next morning?"

"Ten p.m."

"And what did you do?"

"I went and got breakfast."

"And were you with anyone at breakfast?"

"Yes. I talked to Dimitri and one of his guardians for a few minutes. That's what I was doing when I was arrested."

"So, your teacher comes into the story yet again."

"Is there a problem with that?" I asked. She glared at me.

"I'm starting to wonder if there was something going on here. Weren't you holding his hand as you came in?"

"Yeah. That's hardly proof." Iris opened her mouth, obviously to take a snap at me, but the judge interrupted.

"Can we get back to the subject please?"

"What were you talking about?" she asked, obviously wanting to get more information on our relationship.

"His guardian asked me if I was going to the council, and Dimitri wanted to know why I'd said they probably wouldn't let me in. Does that satisfy you?" I asked, mockingly.

"Can you tell me exactly how the conversation went?"

"Objection!" Abe shouted. "That is a completely unreasonable question."

"Granted." The judge allowed.

"I have no further questions."

"Miss Hathaway, you are dismissed." I climbed down, and the judge asked one more question as I was walking back to my seat. "Any more witnesses? Mr Mazur, Miss Kane?"

When they didn't reply, she declared another recess. After that, the council would vote on the verdict…and I would find out if I dot the privilege of life.

* * *

"Court is now in session!" the hammer slammed on the desk, and everything seemed to go in slow motion from the sound.

"The council will now vote on the outcome of the trial." They were assembled at the front of the room, and I was so nervous, I was shaking. Abe saw me, and put a hand over mine as comfort. It didn't work, but I smiled at him anyway.

"You'll get out of this, no matter what the verdict." He said very seriously. That didn't calm me any. Then they started the votes.

"Badica."

"Not Guilty."

"Conta?"

"Not Guilty."

"Dashkov?"

"Guilty."

"Drozdov?"

"Guilty."

"Lazar?"

"Guilty."

"Ozera?"

"Not Guilty."

"Szelsky?"

"Guilty."

"Tarus?"

"Not Guilty."

"Voda?

"Not Guilty."

"Zeklos?"

"Guilty."

"Ivashkov?"

The whole world froze in that one moment. It was five to five. Fifty-fifty. This vote will either save my life, or end it.

"Guilty."

The whole world froze for just one second, and then: "I announce that Rosemarie Hathaway is guilty of High Treason: Murder of the Queen." The sound of her hammer echoed through the room.

"NO!"

His voice came from not far behind me, and as he broke the tension, I lost my composure. I started to cry, Lissa started to cry…he broke down completely; crying into his hands on the floor with his sisters hovering over him, trying to get him to stand so he could go.

The guardians came up on either side of me, lifting me and they started to drag me out of the courtroom, and then I heard one simple sound from behind me.

"No."

* * *

**I was listening to Rihanna as I was writing this chapter and I found two sons I think go really well with the chapter.**

**Wait your Turn**

It's just the way  
The game is played  
It's best if you just  
Wait your turn

The wait is ova  
The wait is ova  
The wait is ova  
The wait is ova  
The wait is ova  
The wait is ova  
The wait is ova  
The wait is ova

I pitch with a grenade  
Swing away if you're  
Feeling brave  
There's so much power  
In my name  
If you pop off in your seat  
Steady  
I'm gonna do the wave

I'm such a  
Such a lady  
You don't have to be  
So afraid  
Cause I got room  
Up on my team  
You can play  
But hold up

It's just the way  
The game is played  
It's best if you just  
Wait your turn

It's getting crowded  
Over here  
But babe  
The wait is ova  
Sometimes it takes  
A thousand tries  
To win  
The wait is ova

Fumble  
Don't you fumble  
That's a flag on the play  
Babe if you don't wanna  
Then you don't have to wait  
But together  
We gon' be taking over

It's just the way  
The game is played  
It's best if you just  
Wait your turn

So you don't wanna wait  
I hate to hear  
That's such a shame  
'Cos if you play it sideways  
Ain't no timeout in my game  
They you already underway

I know you want to win  
And you wish  
I would let you in  
Get in line over here  
You can play  
But hold up

It's just the way  
The game is played  
It's best if you just  
Wait your turn

It's getting crowded  
Over here  
But babe  
The wait is ova  
Sometimes it takes  
A thousand tries  
To win  
The wait is ova

Fumble  
Don't you fumble  
That's a flag on the play  
Babe if you don't wanna  
Then you don't have to wait  
But together  
We gon' be taking over

It's just the way  
The game is played  
It's best if you just  
Wait your turn

Baby put the work in  
Like a champion  
But the crowd is screaming  
With their hands way up  
Couldn't be with no one else  
You're the only way  
I win

Baby got the whole world  
Standing up  
Damn I'm glad I picked ya  
Took a chance on love  
Baby love

The time is now  
And now  
The wait is ova

The wait is ova  
The wait is ova  
The wait is ova  
The wait is ova  
(just wait your turn)  
The wait is ova  
The wait is ova  
The wait is ova  
The wait is ova  
(just wait your turn)

It's getting crowded  
Over here  
But babe  
The wait is ova  
Sometimes it takes  
A thousand tries  
To win  
The wait is ova

Fumble  
Don't you fumble  
That's a flag on the play  
Babe if you don't wanna  
Then you don't have to wait  
But together  
We gon' be taking over

It's just the way  
The game is played  
It's best if you just  
Wait your turn

Just wait your turn  
The wait is ova  
The wait is ova  
The wait is ova  
The wait is ova

**Russian Roulette**

Take a breath, take it deep  
Calm yourself, he says to me  
If you play, you play for keeps  
Take the gun, and count to three  
I'm sweating now, moving slow  
No time to think, my turn to go

[Chorus:]  
And you can see my heart, beating  
You can see it through my chest  
Said I'm terrified but I'm not leaving  
I know that I must pass this test  
So just pull the trigger (trigger x4)

[Verse 2:]  
Say a prayer, to yourself  
He says close your eyes,  
Sometimes it helps  
And then I get, a scary thought  
That he's here, means he's never lost

[Chorus:]  
And you can see my heart, beating  
Oh you can see it through my chest  
And I'm terrified, but I'm not leaving  
Know that I must pass this test  
So just pull the trigger

[Verse 3:]  
As my life flashes before my eyes  
I'm wondering will I, ever see another sunrise?  
So many won't get the chance to say goodbye  
But it's too late to pick up the value of my life

[Chorus:]  
And you can see my heart, beating  
Oh oh you can see it through my chest  
Said I'm terrified, but I'm not leaving  
Know that I must pass this test  
And you can see my heart, beating  
Oh you can see it through my chest  
I I I'm terrified but I'm not leaving (no, no)  
Know that I must pass this test  
So just pull the trigger

**So what do you think of this? I've been trying to come up with ideas for it for about a month now, and I know you've all wanted to see it for ages, but I wanted it to be perfect. There is a bit in the middle that I found quite hard to write, so that's not very good, but I think the rest is pretty good. R&R. Thank you :D**


	6. Chapter 5

**I'M SORRY THAT IT WAS THE SAME CHAPTER FIRST BEFORE, BUT I FIXED IT! YAY!**

Chapter 5

"No." He growled.

We turned around to see him standing there. I'd thought his voice was terrifying, but as I turned to him, even though I had tears streaming relentlessly down my face, his face beat it by miles. It was one of the most terrifying things I'd seen outside of movies—same for his voice. But I could see the pain there; the pain he never shows anyone.

But the scariest thing was how he seemed to grow.

He was so angry, he seemed to have grown; he was already the tallest person in the room. The stormy expression on his face seemed to deepen as guardians were looking between themselves, unsure whether they should restrain him or not.

Or whether he was changing back, right in front of their eyes.

He still had tears streaming down his face as he took a step forwards. The guardians either side of me let go. They reached inside each inside pocket on their jackets, pulling out a gun and a stake each. The other guardians in the room quickly followed suit—even Eddie, Mom, and Alberta.

It wasn't until that moment I truly learned why Mason had called him a god. As I watched, his eyes seemed to flash red, for just a fraction of a second, and that was all they needed. The guardians by me released the safety, and everyone else advanced.

"Oh, no, no." He was whispering now. He shook his head at the guardians and took another step forward. "_Buria_." He breathed. And that was their cue.

They all leapt forwards t once, and he dispatched of them more easily than he had in the café. Every single person who tried to take him down ended up somewhere towards the sides of the room. The Royal Guard burst in through the doors and surrounded him, guns cocked. He raised an eyebrow at them.

He looked around himself, at each of the twelve guardians surrounding him. He looked to the guy that seemed to be the leader. Everyone in the room had their eyes on him.

"Boo!" The guy pulled the trigger. My heart stopped beating, and then…"Too slow," He said. "Nisam Strigoi. Nisam dhampir. Ja sam u sredini. Ja sam brži, i Ja sam Jači od tebe. Ja mogu da vidim bolje ..." he took a step forward, and smiled a slow, sly smile. "... I Ja mogu da miris bolje."

I don't know what he said to the guy, but the guy almost pissed himself. He smiled a mocking smile, and, quicker than the eye can follow, he had the gun out of the guy's hand. He held it up to the guy in point blank range. "Run." The guy backed off slowly, before spinning and sprinting away as fast as he could.

I stepped forwards. His eyes flashed back to me from the guy running away from him. I took another step towards him. He lowered the gun.

"Dimitri," I whispered, "stop. Please." His hands trembled. "For me." He shook his head.

"They're going to take you away." He breathed. He met my eyes.

"Please, Dimitri." I lay a hand on his arm. I kept my eyes firmly locked on his. We both still had tears streaming down our faces. I ran my hand down his arm to his hand. I felt him hand the gun to me, and I threw it down on the floor behind me. The guardians were still afraid to approach him, but they'd put their guns down.

"Thank you." He leaned down and touched his forehead to mine. I closed my eyes, and laced our fingers together. "Thank you."

"I did it for you." He whispered. All eyes were on us. They were waiting for him to lash out again…but he didn't. Far from it, actually. He began to sob, and dropped to the floor. I knelt by him and held him in my arms. "I did it for you. I did everything for you."

"I know. Thank you." He sat up to look me in the eye.

"I love you." He said.

"I love you, too." And then he kissed me. In front of everyone. But I couldn't care less, because I was in the arms of my Russian God. I wound my arms around his neck, and everything felt just perfect.

That is, until we heard someone clear their throat beside us. We broke apart to see my mom, Kirova, and Iris Kane staring at us.

"I knew it." Iris said. "I knew there was something going on. And you both denied it. But you were lying, weren't you."

"I never denied it. Neither did Dimitri." I said. She was fuming. "Well, not today, at least."

"Care to explain, Rosemarie?" my mother asked. I saw Abe walk up behind her.

"Not now, Janine. Later."

"There won't_ be_ a later, Abe." He shook his head.

"Can we talk about this just a little bit more?" he asked the judge, who had come to gather around Dimitri and I, along with everyone else. He had his arms wrapped around my waist, and I had my head resting on his chest. This could be the last time we'd see each other. The judge shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Mr Mazur. We can't." Abe seemed to focus on her for a second.

"Paula, please. Just five more minutes." His voice had a hypnotic tone to it. I frowned and felt a bolt of shock coming from Lissa. I slipped into her head for just a moment, and couldn't believe what I saw. Abe's aura was lit up gold. He was actually _compelling_ the judge.

_Abe_ was a _Spirit_ user.

Paula's eyes glazed over and she nodded her head.

"Back to your seats, people!" she yelled over the babble that had arose when Dimitri and I had kissed earlier. It died down and people moved back to where they were sitting before.

"Did he…?" Dimitri asked warily, as though he didn't really want to know the answer.

"Yeah. He did."

"Is he…?"

"Apparently so."

"Right."

We moved back to our places. I sat beside my dad and whispered to him, "What was _that_?" through my teeth.

"That was compulsion, dear."

"I know that, asshole. I meant what was the whole big gold aura thing." His eyes widened. "Why did you not tell me you were a spirit user?"

"That's not important right now." He stood up. "What's important now is that it's going to get you off the hook."

He faced the council. "Rose is innocent," he spoke in the eerily hypnotic voice all Moroi use when compelling, "she didn't do it. Let her go."

He repeated the word over and over again, and I watched as, one by one, the council fell subject to his compulsion. I felt Lissa's shock as his aura flared up gold once again, and then she started to channel her own compulsion. She started to whisper along with him, and as soon as Adrian realised what was going on, he joined in, too.

They got up and stood by him at the front. They were speaking in unison now, repeating it over and over, until they had each and every one of the council under the compulsion—including the judge.

"Rose is innocent; she didn't do it. Let her go." They repeated one last time, and I looked around to see they'd also compelled the whole audience to forget what they'd done. Lissa turned to the judge.

"Hold another vote. Now." She said sternly.

"Badica."

"Not Guilty."

"Conta?"

"Not Guilty."

"Dashkov?"

"Not Guilty."

"Drozdov?"

"Not Guilty."

"Lazar?"

"Not Guilty."

"Ozera?"

"Not Guilty."

"Szelsky?"

"Not Guilty."

"Tarus?"

"Not Guilty."

"Voda?

"Not Guilty."

"Zeklos?"

"Not Guilty."

"Ivashkov?"

"Not guilty."

Her compulsion dropped.

"I now announce that Rosemarie Hathaway is innocent of the High Treason she has been recently accused of." The hammer thing slammed down, and nearly the whole room erupted in cheers.

I felt someone come up behind me and I turned to see who it was. Dimitri looked at me with so much love I thought my heart would burst.

"I love you, Roza."

"I love you, too, Comrade." He groaned and kissed me.

This could be my happy ending. But knowing my life. It won't stay that way too long.


	7. TheoryUPDATED

**Okay, so, I've been thinking for a while about this, and I came up with a theory to explain why all the bad things happened in the books. But it does, unfortunately lead back to Dimitri. I love him, but it does make a whole lot of sense, so here it is: When Dimitri lied to Rose in the first book, it triggered everything.**

**If he had admitted that he loved Rose when she asked him, she would never have gone to see Victor, so she wouldn't have been bashed around by Natalie.**

**Also, she wouldn't have been jealous of Tasha, so she wouldn't have told Mason where the Strigoi were, and he never would've gone, and Mason wouldn't have died.**

**I also think that all the Strigoi were working together. It's common knowledge that the ones in Russia were the ones that organized the attack on St. Vlad's, but I think that they were the same ones that were in charge of the attacks in Frostbite, and that Isaiah had told them about Rose, and so they'd gone to the Academy for revenge. So Dimitri wouldn't have been turned.**

**So, Rose would never have gone to Russia looking for him, she wouldn't have nearly died fighting him, and they wouldn't have had to break Victor Dashkov out of prison.**

**And, so, consequently, Rose and Dimitri wouldn't have been fighting, and she would never be with Adrian, and probably not have been accused for killing the queen.**

**So, had Rose not been jealous, none of this would've happened, and had Dimitri admitted how he felt in the first place, she wouldn't have been jealous.**

**And, also, if he hadn't said "They have a bond," when he was trying to make Kirova give Rose a second chance, Victor would never have the full knowledge that he had to keep Rose busy when he kidnapped Lissa, and so Rose could've gotten Dimitri while his guardians were still on Campus.**

**So, there, all explained. All my friends agree with this theory, I hope you do too. I love Dimitri, but it really does make sense.**

**Review and tell me what you think!**


	8. Chapter 6

**I know I haven't updated for a while, but it's because I've had writers block. It took me a while to think of something to happen in this chapter.**

Chapter 6

I kissed him with every ounce of passion I had in my body, but I pulled away after a moment, remembering where we were. I noticed Abe from across the room and realised that I had to talk to him about the whole big-gold-aura-super-compulsion thing.

"I need to go and talk to my dad. I'll see you later?"

"Can't you just do it later? It can't be that important."

"I need to do it now," I explained, "before you distract me and I forget what I was supposed to yell at him about. Plus, you need to go spend some time with your family."

"Okay."

"I'll come find you when I'm done. Lissa already told me where their apartment is, so I'll look there first."

"Good. But if we're not there, we'll probably be in my room. You know where that is, right?" I nodded. He kissed me. "I love you, so much." I grinned. It was so nice to hear him say that again.

"I love you, too, so much." I kissed him once more before we walked in opposite directions; him to where his family were waiting and me to Abe.

I walked across the courtroom. Abe was leaning against the wall seeming quite pleased with himself.

"Hey, Old Man, what was that?"

"What was what?" he looked at me, with a puzzled look on his face.

"Don't play dumb, you asshole. You know exactly what I'm talking about." I glared at him for a moment; the courtroom was slowly emptying of people. There was only us and one or two others, now.

"I think we should go somewhere private and talk." He suggested. I shrugged and followed him to his room.

"So," I began as we made it to his room. "Are you going to answer my question?"

"That was compulsion. I'm a spirit user, but you probably already guessed that."

"And why did you not tell me? It's not like I'm a total spirit stranger! If anything, I'm the complete opposite! I wouldn't even be alive if it wasn't for spirit!"

"I know that—"

"And you can hardly think you could hide it from me! I watched your aura earlier! It just, like, bl—"

"You saw my aura?" I nodded. "How? You're a dhampir."

"I saw through Lissa's head. I felt her shock at something, so I looked in to see what it was, and it was you! Your aura just blew up in a big blast of gold! And anyway, how did you disguise your aura? And _why_ did you disguise your aura? Do you not trust us or something?"

"Of course I trust you. You're my daughter. I just wanted to stay under the radar, that's all. Think about it, if there's any spirit users out there that didn't know they'd specialised—if they saw me glowing like that, they'd want to know how I'm like them. And I don't want that Rose. Plus, don't you think it's more threatening for people to think I'm a fire user?"

"Yeah, I suppose so. It would be funny if someone asked you to burn up a Strigoi or something because you told them you were a fire user—and then you couldn't. What a way for the world to find out that Abe Mazur uses spirit—the most useless element there is. Besides when I die, that is." I corrected myself. "And that it can bring Strigoi back, that is. It would have been so much quicker if you'd staked Dimitri, you know? It took Lissa about five tries! And where were you—"

"Russia." He interrupted.

"Well, I was going to say, 'sitting on your ass, completely oblivious to the fact your daughter was in need of your help' but that works, too." He laughed. "I think I need to go, now. I told Dimitri I wouldn't be long; he's with his family, I think I need to apologise to Viktoria about Roland." **(Rolan? Roland? I couldn't remember which it was.) **

"Well, I think I should apologise, too. I was the one who had him taken away, not you."

"Okay. They're probably scared of you, you know?" I commented as we left for the Belikovs apartment.

"Most people are scared of me. But, Strigoi are scared of you, and I think that's a bit higher on the scariness hierarchy."

"Suppose so."

Just then, my mom stormed up to us, with a murderous look on her face.

"_What_ do you think you're doing, young lady?" she yelled. I knew exactly what she meant, but I still answered in typical Rose style.

"I'm walking to the Belikov's apartment to see Dimitri and apologise to Viktoria."

"You know exactly what I mean. Don't play dumb with me, Rose."

"Well, Mom, I don't know what to tell you."

"I don't care. I stops now."

"That's not going to happen."

"Who else knows about it?"

I was a little shocked by this question—it was ever so slightly random—but I answered anyway. "Um…Lissa, Christian—I think—Alberta, Eddie, the Belikovs, everyone else I met in Russia…" I thought about it for a second if there was anyone else before adding, "and Abe."

"You knew about this?" she fumed, turning on Abe.

"No shit, Mom. What do you think I was doing in Russia? Chasing kittens?"

"I knew you were in Russia to kill Strigoi, but I didn't know it was because of…him!"

"Well, Mom, since Dimitri was turned not a week before I left the Academy, it was painfully obvious. And you were there! You were there when I wanted to go back for him! How could you have not realised? How? Alberta noticed! How can you be around so little that my teachers realised before you—my own mother!" I all but screamed at her. "How?" I whispered a moment later, after I had calmed down a bit.

"It ends now." She growled, before stalking off. I began walking again. Abe followed behind me.

"She'll come around soon, Kiz. Don't worry." He squeezed my shoulder, just as we arrived at the Belikovs. I knocked on the door.

The door swung open and I was practically tackled to the ground by an excited Viktoria.

"Ohmigod, Rose! I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have yelled at you like that! You were right about Rolan, I should've listened to you. I missed you so much, Rose! You're still my sister." She yelled into my ear.

"Good to know. Do you think you could let your sister breathe for just a second?" I asked, hugging her back. "And maybe spare my hearing?" everyone behind her laughed a bit at that.

"Sorry." She said as she pulled away. Something behind my head caught her attention. "Rose, why is Abe Mazur with you?" she whispered.

"I wanted to apologise for what happened with Rolan. It was as much my fault as it was Rose's."

"And also," I cut in before he could continue, "it turns out he's my dad."

She gasped as I told her. "You were in the court room today weren't you? Adrian told everyone then."

"No, actually I wasn't there for most of it. I left just after you walked in. I couldn't believe that the last thing I'd said to you was that I hated you."

"Oh, well, it's all in the past. Let's just get on with now." She pulled me inside the room.

"Apology accepted!" she yelled as Abe closed the door behind us. "How did you find out he was your father?" she asked as I sat down on the couch beside Dimitri. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and I curled into his side.

"My mom told me when I got back to the academy. He'd given me his scarf since I didn't have anything to wear. All I had was a little green dress and a hoodie. I did have the ring Mark gave me and all that jewellery," I added, looking up at Dimitri. He stiffened. "He scraped me up some clothes and gave me a scarf and coat to keep warm. "You know, I kept everything you gave me." I felt his arms wrap around my waist, tightly.

He leaned down to brush his lips against my cheek. I felt his breath trembling against my skin. "I'm, so, so sorry for what I did to you. You will never know how sorry I am. I can never make it up to you." He breathed into my ear.

I spoke just as quietly as he had, looking into his eyes. "It's alright. You weren't yourself. I forgive you, even if you can't forgive yourself. Don't worry about it. I'm fine now. You're with me, and you're back to how you were." He opened his mouth to argue, but I just placed my hand over it. "We'll discuss it later." I turned back to his family.

"What was all that about?" Viktoria asked. Dimitri looked twice as depressed as he did before.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it." I said before Dimitri got the chance to speak.

"Okay…" she trailed off. "So, you graduated, then?" she said, switching subjects ever so inconspicuously…note the sarcasm.

"Yeah. But, according to Abe, they gave me a harder trial than everyone else. I thought that was quite unfair, but apparently, since I've killed Strigoi, I'm better than everyone else." Every set of eyes in the room turned to me. "What? I was trying my hand at being modest!" they continued to stare at me. "Okay. I'm a kick-ass guardian. They gave me a harder trial than everyone else because I'm so scary. Although, I do think they should've given Eddie one more like mine; I mean he's almost as good as me…" I trailed off. "Okay. I'm the best in the class by far. So what?"

"Rose, since you were taught by one of the best guardians there is," Karolina shot Dimitri a look that made him blush, "and then killed countless Strigoi before you graduated, dropped out of school, killed more—"

"Terrified a few." Dimitri put in.

"That, too—and came out of it all alive and went back to complete your senior year, it isn't really shocking that they gave you a harder trial."

"Barely." I mumbled.

"Huh?" she asked.

"Barely." I repeated, slightly louder. "I was almost dead when I was found. Oksana had to heal me. I can't be that amazing."

Dimitri leaned into my hair. And here we are again. By trying to get off the subject, we ended up right back there. "I'm so sorry." He said again. I felt something wet on my head. I looked up to see Dimitri crying. His family didn't know what to do; I've only seen him cry once before—when he was turned back into a dhampir. I wiped away the tears.

"I'm sorry. We won't talk about it again, I promise." I kissed him and wrapped my arms around his neck. I could've cried just then, seeing him like that, but I kept strong. He clung to me like his life depended on it.

"I love you, I love you, I love you." He repeated it over and over for hours. Eventually he passed out—very un-Dimitri like, but it's true. He lay on my shoulder, his face buried in my hair. His hold on me relaxed, and I shifted so he could lay down as much as possible. In the end, his head ended up in my lap. I stroked his hair as he slept.

"I feel like we're missing something here." Viktoria, as usual, was the one to break the silence. "First off: I don't think I've ever seen Dimka cry before, so it must be bad. And second: since when does he just fall asleep in the middle of the day?" she whisper-shouted.

"I think he fell asleep trying to get away from the memories. His body shut down, blocking them from his conscious mind." I barely whispered the words, trying not to wake him, but I think they heard.

"And what memories are they?"

"When he was a Strigoi, he did some—things—and it's kinda hard to talk about."

"And earlier on, when he was talking about what he did to you…what was it?" she seemed almost hesitant to ask. "Is that what he was crying about?" I nodded. I looked at his face, to check he was, indeed, sleeping soundly. He was.

"Well, when I left you, I went with Denis and the other unpromised ones. I wasn't entirely truthful when I told you I was in Russia to tell you about Dimitri; I was there to hunt him down…and kill him. We'd always said that if one of us turned Strigoi, the other would kill them—and that's what I was doing. Abe made me promise to leave Baia, so I went to Novosibirsk with Denis. We fought Strigoi for two weeks together. I tortured each Strigoi I found until I was convinced they didn't know him. Then I let Denis stake them.

"Then we found one who knew him. I let him go and said to him to tell Dimitri Rose Hathaway was looking for him. He passed on the message, and the next day, Dimitri hunted me down. He knocked me out and took me to where he was living: in a mansion with Galina, his ex-mentor. He kept me locked up for about a week. He fed from me twice a day, so I couldn't fight back. He tried to convince me to turn Strigoi and be with him forever—I always said no, of course.

"Then, one day Adrian came to my dream. I was happy—for once—to see him. He pointed out what a mess my neck was, and when I woke up, I went to see for myself. And then, after that, I tricked him into not biting me anymore. I would ask him questions about being Strigoi, and make it sound like I was honestly considering it. I'd pretend to be asleep so he wouldn't feed from me. I was just trying to build my strength so I could escape.

"I feared I had no time left, so I broke a chair and made a wooden stake out of the leg. The maid-type person who would always bring me food and clothes came in, and I attacked her. I got her to tell me the code to the doors. I knocked her out and put her in the bath tub. When he came back, I staked him.

"I found my stake and ran." I didn't feel the need to mention my fight with Galina, Marlen and Nathan. "He chased me. We fought on a bridge. I threatened to jump off, but he caught me. We were both half-hanging off the railing, so I took the opportunity and staked him. I walked away. I collapsed under a tree. I passed out until an old couple came past me. They gave me a lift and I called the Alchemists and they came and took me to a hotel-type place. When I woke up, Abe was there, with Mark and Oksana." I looked up at them. I was crying by now.

"It turned out I hadn't actually gotten the stake in deep enough and he'd survived it. He sent me the stake back to St. Vladimir's with a note telling me he was waiting for me to come out of the wards. He was still obsessed with turning me. Lissa and I went to Las Vegas for a weekend, and he was there, waiting for us. That was when Eddie found out about us. I couldn't bring myself to kill him. We got away, and then, when Lissa visited Lehigh for her eighteenth, he was there, too. He took her as bait. Christian, too. When I got there, we fought. Christian and Lissa tried to join in. Christian surrounded him in a ring of fire.

"It turns out Lissa had managed to charm a stake with spirit. She staked him. He was brought back. It was the only other time I've seen him cry." I let out a small laugh. "And the craziest thing about it isn't even that he was restored from being a Strigoi. It was the fact that Victor Dashkov was the one who helped us find the cure."

"What? You mean that guy who escaped from Prison?" I don't know who spoke; my attention was focused on Yeva.

"Did you know Oksana and Mark knew a guy who had done it before?" she nodded. "His name's Robert Doru. He's Victor Dashkov's brother."

"And I ask again: You mean that guy who escaped from Prison?" Ah, so it was Viktoria. I gave her a sly smile.

"Who do you think broke him out?" there were a few gasps. "I had to; it was the only way to save him. If it wasn't for Victor, Dimitri would be dead right now. I was literally seconds from staking him when Lissa did. And yet, after everything he did to me, I still loved him—I still do. I don't blame him for what he did. It wasn't his fault." I wiped away the tears. "Well, yeah. That's what's up with him. He doesn't entirely believe me when I say it wasn't his fault; that I don't blame him—but the fact that he's here is enough for me."

"Wow, you went through a lot to save him."

"Yeah, I did, but Lissa got the hard part. She had to make charms for me and her to seem human, make look entirely different, and then charm a stake—which isn't easy with all the other elements in it. She's only just gotten the hang of charming thing; just a month ago, she made one that burned me. And then, on top of all that, she had to learn to use a stake and then get it into his chest," we all cringed at the way I worded that last part, "and he was surrounded by fire; she had burns all over her face and arms. But, really, I couldn't be more grateful. She gave me back everything I needed in life. Hey, does anyone have the time?" Olena checked her watch.

"Um, nine fifteen." Shit. More time had passed than I'd realised.

"Well, I need to go, now. I need to see Lissa and Adrian before I go to bed." I looked down at Dimitri; he'd stretched out as much as he could on the small couch. His legs were actually on the floor. He was still holding onto my waist. "Um…" I spoke my thoughts aloud. "This could be a little tricky without waking him up." I leaned down to whisper in his ear. "Dimitri." I ran a hand through his hair. I felt his hands loosen around my waist. "Wake up."

"Roza," he groaned, only half awake.

"I have to go now. And I think you would be more comfortable in a bed." He released his hold on me so I could stand up. I don't think he was entirely awake, still, as he just flopped straight back down on the couch. I kneeled down in front of him. I kissed his cheek. "I love you." I whispered before standing. "Bye," I called to everyone. I had no doubts that Dimitri was asleep again before I'd left the room.

**I read Last Sacrifice—finally. My copy hasn't come yet, so I had to borrow a friend's copy.**

**I can promise you, that from now on, this will not be the exact same as in the book. It will be different. But there were ideas in the book that I was expecting to happen and was planning on putting in my story. So they will still be there.**

**Well, it was amazing and I can't wait for mine to come in the post.**

**Please Review!**


	9. AN

**A.N. Very sorry, but I won't update for a while; I closed my poll today and Hopefully Happy Ending won. I will update occasionally, but I will be writing that one more now. I don't want to stop writing this, but I don't have much choice; I can't keep track of what I'm writing in my stories because there's just too many, but I already have tonnes more ideas for stories, so once I get near to the end of that one, there'll be more up…and I will keep updating, but not as much as I was previously…not that that was very often, anyway. Very sorry.**


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